in today's cover story, it's the beer run of all time - see what happens when the greatest beer ever goes on sale for the first time. plus, think before you click. how to keep your money safe from scams of the season. in traders unplugged, stocks, santa, and 7% unemployment are on the agenda for today. and, find out why it's a great time to fly away. first business starts now. you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas. good morning. it's friday, december 14th. i'm angela miles. in today's first look: waiting on washington: president obama and speaker of the house john boehner met last night for yet another round of budget talks. ahead of the meeting, stocks and commodities all sold off as wall street assumed talks on averting the fiscal cliff had broken down.

it's official: well-known consumer watcher elizabeth warren will serve on the senate banking committee. and it's up and up for adobe. shares of adobe traded higher after hours by 4% after the company reported earings that topped expectations. there's the sound of the bell. mark sebastian of option pit mentoring and consulting joins us on this friday. good to see you on the show today. > > good morning. > what will the friday trade look like? > > you know, i've been watching a couple of things: gold got obliterated yesterday, i think on technical selling. it's interesting, if you look at this last quarter, everything that people made money on in the first nine months of the year - first three quarters - is getting absolutely torched: gold, apple, commodities. why? i think there is some profit-

taking for tax planning purposes ahead of what could be this fiscal cliff. > there has been a lot of talk surrounding best buy and going private. is this stock a buy at current levels? > > if schulze can get the deal done, it is a buy at current levels. if he can, absolutely not. best buys entire market is falling apart. tvs are- they're not even going to sell tvs anymore. but if you believe in schulze, and you believe he can get this deal done, then it absolutely is a buy. > you mentioned gold. let's take a look at silver as well. silver had a down day. so, would you buy these at current levels? > > you know, i think at current levels, with volatility in the gvz and vxslv both pretty low, i think i would be looking at buying call options in both gold and silver as i think they have got plenty of room to run. certainly i think in q1 2013. > you are bullish on silver and gold. good to have you on the show. > > thank you. repercussions from the fiscal

cliff drama are beginning to be seen as investors try to balance their portfolios. european stocks fell after fed chairman ben bernanke said the central bank's purchase of treasuries will not be enough to offset the effects of going off the cliff. meanwhile, financial advisors are seeing a certain "fear factor" - investors moving out of stock mutual funds to bond mutual funds. "we're also putting emphasis on high-yield bonds - short-term, high-yield bonds and international markets. we're putting emphasis also on emerging markets as compared with developed markets." "there's a lot of buzz about high-yield dividend but high dividend payout." niemann says a lot of investors are anticipating changes in the tax code and may make adjustments just before year's

end. guarantees on large amounts of money in the bank are likely to expire at the end of the year. attempts by democrats to add a 2-year extention to the transaction account guarantee program have failed. it was started during the finanical crisis. the accounts are often used by businesses, local government, and farmers who need a safe place to store money for a short time and know that it's backed by the government. critics say it was becoming too much of a money safehaven. amounts at $250,000 or less will still be guaranteed. mcafee madness has hit miami. anti-virus software creator john mcafee arrived this week in miami after being deported from guatemala. mcafee fled to guatemala from belize after police considered him a suspect

in the killing of a u.s. expatriate. no charges have been filed outside of the u.s. against mcafee, who says he has not been questioned by u.s. authorities. meanwhile, the mcafee software security firm is out with a warning about cyber bank robbers. according to published reports, a massive cyber attack with the goal of stealing millions from consumer accounts is in the works. chase, citibank, wells fargo, and even paypal are among the banks that could get hit. the cyber criminals are said to already be testing the attack plan. most recently, u.s. bank reported sudden trouble with its website. on the ipo watch, solar power company solar city had a sunny first day of trading. after cutting its ipo price to $8, shares traded near $11.15 before closing up 47% at $11.79. pbf energy also had a good first day on the market. shares of the refinery company rose 1% following an ipo price of $26 a

share. shares yesterday closed at $26.25. hundreds of cars damaged by superstorm sandy are on the way to crushers. others may wind up on used car lots. while it's not illegal to buy or sell flood-damaged vehicles, it is if the buyer is unaware. the national insurance crime bureau is trying to avoid the repeat of flooded cars on the market that followed hurricane katrina. "we've seen it in every water event in the past, so its very likely that some will make it back out into the commerce stream. even if it's one case, it's one too many. " frank scafidi of the national insurance crime bureau says its worth a vin check at nicb.org or have a mechanic look the car over before you buy. other clues to flood damage: mud or water trapped in the spare tire, condensation under the light cover, musty odor, and drastically reduced price. more negative news for boeing's 787 dreamliner. yesterday,

electrical problems forced an emergency landing of a dreamliner on a qatar airlines flight. the airline's ceo said he was "disappointed" with the problems. the u.k. president of boeing responded to that by saying the company "understands his frustration" and that boeing is working hard to mitigate the problems. it followed other dreamliner news this week from the federal aviation administration of possible fuel line errors in the plane. 2012 is turning into a safe year to fly. the international air transport association is calling this the safest year on record. not one jet among the world's 240 leading airlines has crashed this year. when the monks of westvleteren abbey in belgium needed a new roof, they decided to sell for the first time ever outside belgium the beer they brew at the abbey. in our cover story, demand has answered their prayers, and those of beer lovers around the world. the devout showed up until they ran out - fans of a belgian beer highly-rated by connoissuers but hard to get beyond the cloistered confines of st. sixtus abbey.

"i don't think they sell it outside belgium at all." "my fiance is a huge beer- lover." the monks who brew westvleteren 12 make just enough to sustain the abbey. it's tightly controlled - sold one day a month, in limited amounts, two hours from brussels at the end of a long road in flemish pig country. "what they do is sell to the secular community to fund whatever they need at the abbey." the abbey is in need of roof repairs and other renovations. "it's a great cause. everybody needs a roof over their heads." so the monks chose to quench the thirst of the faithful by selling their trappist ale at $84.99 a six pack. "oh, hey, i hope they get a really nice roof... maybe even a bigger place." "if you do the math, that's about $15 per bottle, and you help rebuild the abbey. that's kinda cool." only a few shops in america

received this blessing. despite one per person - seriously - this shop in chicago ran out by two pm, leaving roughly 3,000 other beers available at this store. "so who's the lucky recipient of all six of these? probably me. my wife might have one." "they say this is a one-time only deal. i'd believe that, westvleteren's known to be very, very, very private." however reclusive the monks of westvleteran, their beer showed up on ebay going for up to $350 a six-pack, only a few hours after stores sold out. they may want to rethink that one-time- only thing. still to come, does the drop in unemployment make for the best time to load up on stocks? our traders go unplugged with their views. but first, find out how to protect your money in a season of scammers. that's next.

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ready to rob your holiday cheer. joining us with information on how you can avoid holiday scams this season is credit counselor erica sandberg. erica, good morning. how are you today, and what is the latest in terms of scams that you're seeing this holiday season? > > good morning. of course, it is the holiday shopping season. people are online. they are

looking for great deals. and this is where scamsters are going to focus their attention sometimes. so you really have to be hyper-aware as to whom you're buying something from and where you're sending your money. > in the aftermath of hurricane sandy, i know there were a lot of organizations that were ostensibly trying to raise money to help people. there was also kind of a concern about scammers there as well. are you familiar with that? > > yes. any time, literally, any time you are sending money, especially if you are sending cash and you're wiring it, you have to be so, so dedicated to checking out the organization or the person and making sure that all is as it should be. you have to take the time, you have to take the effort, because fraudsters can be really, really good. and they can fool just about anybody. it is a national problem we are looking at, just a huge problem across the united states. the federal trade commission reported in

2011 nearly 1 million u.s. citizens filed a complaint for some type of fraud. so it is pretty big. > so erica, where can people go to find out some of this information that you are talking about? websites and things like that to give folks some news they can use. > > this is great, because i have definitely partnered with the better business bureau and western union, and in doing so, we have a scam stopper website. it is bbb.org/scamstopper. you can find out a ton of information - i blog for them - about the latest scams and different ways so that you can prevent them from happening, and if they do happen about what you can do. you have to keep on your toes, so the more you know, the less likely you are to get taken by one of these horrible fraudsters. > what if the unfortunate happens, that you are scammed? what can you do about it after the fact? > > time is of the essence. if you have wired money to somebody who you don't think really is the right person, get on the phone, especially if you used western union. call them right away. before the person has picked up the funds, you

can stop the transaction so you won't be out any money. so important. get on the phone right away and listen to them. they are the experts. they have heard everything. so if they say it is a scam, it probably is. that is the very first step. but if the person has already picked up the money, it is gone, do file a police report, do go to the state attorney general's office, office of consumer affairs, and file a report. it is so important. protect yourself. see if you can get some of that cash back. > very good advice. erica sandberg, thank you for joining us today. > > my pleasure. still ahead, find out what stocks traders believe are key to the consumer spending rebound. that's next.

this week's traders unplugged is full of trading and investing ideas. joining us today from the cme trading floor: pro traders alan knuckman and andrew keene. good morning guys. > > good morning angie. > > morning angie. > round one: lucky 7's - 7.7%. that's the unemployment rate. it's at its lowest level in 4 years. is that good or bad for the markets? > > i think it is good for job searchers, but i think it's bad. if we're looking for more stimulus or monetary action, i think it's a very positive sign. > > it's good maybe compared to spain, which is 25%, but it matters what kinds of jobs they're doing. we need economic value. if they are working at starbucks, if they are working at retail stores, that is not really providing for the

economy. > > it's getting better. what andrew's forgetting- > > getting better? it's the lowest it's been since obama has been president, yes, but historically it's extremely high. > > a lot of people are leaving the workforce- > but is it good for the stock market? is it good for the stock market? > > it could have a muted effect- > > if it keeps going down, then it's good. but if it stays at 7.7%, it's not good. > round two: stocking up on confidence - consumer spending is back to 2007 levels again. what stocks do you buy to take advantage of the consumer confidence rebound? > > my two favorite stocks - and if you look at them, the p/e's are really high, but the growth rates are unbelievable - is amazon and lululemon. if you look at charts of both of these, these are busting through- > > so people are going to be spending more on workout clothes- > > it depends on the stock specifically. lululemon, yes. amazon prime, i go there every single day. i had a look at that 200 p/e- > > i like consumer spending as an indicator, and obviously we have come back to 2007 levels, so people are feeling a lot better- > > so what's your stock? > > i like - it's not an american stock, it's making money in china - yum! it's coming back after a big sell- off- > > yum!? it's slowdown in china. that's not retail. it's

restaurants! > it's tacos! it's the chicken and taco play. > > he goes to taco bell or pizza hut over there- > > it's a comeback! it's a comeback! > round three: big blues - ibm is changing its 401k contributions to a yearly lump sum. good idea or bad? > > i just think that if people see this, they might take ibm as a leader in the industry and other companies might do this. i don't think it really matters. ibm is such a great job at a great company to work for, anybody that has that job will take it any day of the week. > > yeah, but you have to understand, if you leave your job in the middle of the year, you don't get- > > you're going to turn down a job from ibm consulting? absolutely not. > > think of all the money they can save over the years. they have 433,000 employees. > > unemployment rate was just at 7.5%. you are not turning down a job from ibm regardless. > > it can hurt a lot of employees if they follow that cue, and the workers will lose out. the problem is we've got record profits, but wages have not kept pace. so, somebody is winning this game, and it might be ibm once again. > time now for the bonus round question: true or false - coca- cola created the modern-day image of santa claus? true or

false? > > true. > > i don't believe it. > it's true. > > why do you just have a disagreement to disagree with me? if i would have said false you would have said true! > > i don't believe it! i don't! > > good to have you on the show guys. take care. > > thank you. > > what do you mean created santa claus? it's a german folk tale- > > the modern-day santa claus. the modern-day one. on the coke cans. > we'll be right back.

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trader tim biggam of tradingblock joins us now for chart talk. good morning tim. > > good morning angie. > what are you shopping for in the market today? > > i'm actually shopping on kind of the lower-end retailers. yesterday's retail numbers came out pretty solid. not off the charts, but certainly a good number. i'm liking kind of the mid- to lower-end names. walmart and target are two of them. both these stocks have come in recently, probably about 8% off their recent highs. also looking at a decent dividend

yield, somewhere in those mid- 2% ranges, with maybe some growth going forward. so, in my opinion i think retail sales and holiday shopping should be robust as always. never underestimate the ability of the american public to spend money. but i think it may flow down more toward the lower end than the upper end this year. > taking it one chart at a time, where do you see target? what is your price target there? > > target made a big low a while back, down in that kind of low $40 level. you are looking probably about 5% to 8% higher from here, so, somewhere up around that range. similar kind of story with walmart as well. both of these stocks, probably looking for about a 5% to 8% move higher over the next three to six months. that would be my target to take some money off the table, no pun intended. in the meantime, getting that decent dividend yield, and i think that will provide some

comfort going forward. > moving on to the online e- tailer amazon, what do you think about this stock? > > almost the opposite story there. this one is getting a little bit extended here. it is up i think about 86% this year, so this stock has been off to the races to say the least. so, i am a little cautious here. certainly the multiple on this stock is approaching somewhere around 150. the revenue numbers are there. the earnings aren't. amazon is a great success story, but the stock price is probably a little bit too hot here in my opinion. i would be a buyer more down around that $200 level if it trims in. so, i'm looking for maybe a 10% to 15% pullback before i get interested. > a warning on amazon. good to have you on the show this morning. have a great weekend. > > you too. thank you angie. and that's a close for this week. coming up next week: the author of "tall money" shares his gripping tale of going from big-time drug lord to 15 years in prison - to

successful business man. don't miss it. from all of us at first business, have a great weekend!

a huge fire burns through an east bay business. the questions that could be answered this morning about the future of the company. the alleged lies told by some pg&e workers that is prompting emergency inspections all over the bay area. picture frames made to look like ipads. the scam in vallejo police are warning about. good morning, everybody it is friday very cold friday morning i should say december 14th i'm brian flores. >> and i'm pam cook. thank you for waking up with us. it's very cold. 1:00, 2:00 in the afternoon yesterday i still felt cold. you called it. >> well, it was cold. >> i should have called you, steve, it's cold. >> yeah. we have a lot of cloud